Epworth Production Bible

Here is my "Epworth Production Bible" from my proposal, reiterated here for easy referencing.

1. EQ at the source. "I never EQ to tape. I like the fact that you can really EQ a drum by pushing and pulling a mic in or out [to use proximity effect]. I always try to make sure the sound's right on the mics, meticulously checking phasing.” (Epworth quoted in Inglis 2009) 
2. Tune drums with precision. “I try not to gaffer‑tape drums at all, but I spend hours meticulously tuning them.” (Epworth quoted in Inglis 2009) 
3. No dynamic mics on drums. "I don't ever use dynamic mics on a drum kit if I can help it: it'll either be ribbons or condensers.” (Epworth quoted in Inglis 2009)
4. Record your own samples where possible. When recording “Rolling in the Deep” with Adele, Epworth had her stomp on a wooden step he had lying around the studio. (Gallant 2012) “It’s very easy to go, ‘let’s find a sample of that,’ and it’s just as easy to record it. And ultimately you end up with a bit of noise on it that gives something feeling.” (Epworth quoted in Wilson 2011)
5. Track as many elements together as possible. "I'm a real sucker for getting a really good live take. Even if you replace everything, I'll still always work to get that live take that's really exciting.” (Epworth quoted in Inglis 2009) 
6. Get the vocal right. "I find that when you're recording a vocal, you have to think about how you want the vocalist's voice to sit in the track. If you're doing a rock tune and you've got the singer right against the microphone, you're going to have to work really hard with EQ to try and make it sound like it sits in the track…With a rock singer, it's better to record them an arm's length away so that it seems to sit on that scale in the track.” (Epworth quoted in Inglis 2009) 
7. Leave bass for last. "I always like to do bass last, because it's much easier to tell what's missing sonically within the track, and make sure it's in tune. I like the bass loud, and it's much easier to make sure it's right after you've got the guitars on and those are all in place.” (Epworth quoted in Inglis 2009)
8. Tape saturation. Epworth is fond of using subtle overdrive on almost all elements in a track. “That’s what tape does, isn't it? Even if you're recording to tape just as a format, it adds even‑order distortion to it, and I've managed to start getting a similar effect to tape using…distortion plug‑ins, using the tone as a bias, almost.” (Epworth quoted in Inglis 2009) 
9. Get help with the final mix. “I usually pass the task of creating final mixes off to other people because by that point, I can’t see a whiff of the trees.” (Epworth quoted in Gallant 2012) Because mixing is an area I wish to improve on, I won’t be completely abandoning the final mix to another engineer, but I will seek others’ ears in getting everything sitting just right.

Gallant, M. (2012) Producer of the Year Paul Epworth on Adele, Cee Lo, Foster the People. Universal Audio [Online blog]. Available from: <http://www.uaudio.com/blog> [Accessed 20 October 2016].

Inglis, S. (2009) Paul Epworth: Producing Almost Everyone. Sound On Sound [Online], January. Available from: < http://www.soundonsound.com> [Accessed 20 October 2016]. 

Wilson, J. (2011) Paul Epworth on working with Adele and the hit album, 21. BBC [Online], December. Available from: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news> [Accessed 20 October 2016].